


Sylvain Dyes for Ferdinand. It Backfires.

by Umbr_el_on



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Based on a Tumblr Post, Comedy, Gen, Hair Dyeing, Humor, Mistaken Identity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-13
Updated: 2019-08-13
Packaged: 2020-08-20 22:00:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,314
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20235052
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Umbr_el_on/pseuds/Umbr_el_on
Summary: Having a similar stature and hair color to the Officers Academy’s most notorious skirt-chaser, Sylvain, isn’t easy. Ferdinand knows this far too well, and he’s had enough. What can they do to fix this little issue?





	Sylvain Dyes for Ferdinand. It Backfires.

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [They're Both Gingers Riding Horses](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/507586) by rakkiankh. 

For the third time in one day, Ferdinand found himself moving to a new location in Garreg Mach to try and study. Twice now, he’d had a woman he’d never met before chew him out for being awful to them. They spit accusations of cheating on them, using them, manipulating them. The first woman left Ferdinand wondering if he’d done something stupid, but the second woman clued him in on what was happening.

They thought he was Sylvain.

She'd shouted something about how House Gautier should be ashamed of him before stomping off. The information left him feeling even more irritated as he walked aimlessly around Garreg Mach. He already disliked Sylvain, what with his flirtatious tendencies reflecting poorly on the nobility and the Academy, but now that behavior was spilling over onto him. He certainly didn’t need anyone seeing a woman shouting at him for things he didn’t do. Studying was going to have to wait; he needed to find Sylvain and straighten this out, _now_.

Unsurprisingly, the other redhead was sitting in the dining hall as he usually did. He had three girls sitting with him, laughing at something he said. Ferdinand studied the girls’ faces, just in case one of them came after him later. At least if he knew who they were after, he could direct them to the appropriate place.

“… so that’s the last time I’m going to trade chores with someone.” Sylvain was grinning like a fool, face tilted down, and eyes closed. He was absolutely reveling in the attention of his little harem, and that wouldn’t do.

Taking care not to disturb the girls too much, Ferdinand stepped behind Sylvain and let his books drop onto the table with a thud, making Sylvain jump out of his skin. “A word, Sylvain?” 

Sylvain turned to the man towering over him, the word ‘no’ already on his lips. When he caught sight of Ferdinand’s threating yet patient smile, however, the word fell away. Instead, he nodded stiffly before turning back to the table. The girls all looked inquisitive, eyes darting between the redheads.

“Sorry ladies, we’ll have to pick this up another time.” He threw a wink in their general direction as he stood and stepped away, proudly soaking in the confused and saddened goodbyes.

Ferdinand was already walking towards a fairly empty corner of the hall. Sylvain hustled to catch up to him, and Ferdinand could feel Sylvain eying him as if to try and surmise what was going on. They’d never really spoken to each other during missions or training, let alone one on one. The stiffness and purpose of Ferdinand's steps didn’t suggest this was going to be a fun chat.

“Care to clue me in on the reason for that interruption?” Sylvain fell into step with him, crossing his arms over his chest.

“I would be honored to! Sylvain, your careless flirting is causing me quite an issue.” Ferdinand’s smile fell away, replaced with pursed lips and hardened eyes as they stopped walking, sufficiently distanced from the rest of the students. “A few unlucky ladies mistook me for you this morning, and I got quite the earful as a result."

Sylvain’s mouth opened a bit in surprise, before closing again as he looked away, visibly embarrassed with a dash of amusement. “Ah, I see. Do you happen to remember if either of them said their names? Or could you tell me what they looked like, so I can set things straight?”

Ferdinand snapped back at Sylvain. “I’m not trying to help you apologize, I’m telling you to cease your philandering! What does this say about you, that they couldn’t even recognize you to yell at?”

Sylvain was silent for a moment, thinking carefully about what to say. Ferdinand was clearly pissed and he didn’t want to poke an already angry bear unless it was well worth it. Doing his best to put on a lighthearted smile that Ferdinand saw straight through to mischievousness, Sylvain responded with what he felt best with; humor.

“Well, it looks like one of us needs to dye our hair then, eh?” He straightened up and put his hands behind his head, a sign that he was nervous and uncertain.

Ferdinand rolled his eyes but decided to toy with the idea despite its absurdity. The idea of making Sylvain give up his fiery hair in apology was entertaining. “You think so? I do suppose it would help us be more distinguishable from one another I am sure the Blue Lions ladies could help you. Maybe Mercedes and Annette? What color do you have in mind?”

Sylvain’s eyes widened in shock, a red tinge crawling over his cheeks. “Are you serious?" 

“Well of course! I think your idea is brilliant, the more I ponder it. Who’s going to mix us up if your hair isn’t red anymore? Plus, it would make me feel so much better to know you’d go through the trouble of it just to help me out.” Ferdinand could see that he got the other soon-to-be not redhead, and he had to admit, this little turn of events was fun.

Sylvain couldn’t come up with a way to back out of the idea if his opening and clothing mouth was any indication of the gears in his head turning. With a huff, Sylvain conceded. “Fine.”

“Excellent! Well, that was much easier to resolve than I expected. Shall I direct any future raging women to you?” Ferdinand had a smug look on his face, more than satisfied with the outcome of the confrontation.

“Sure, if they’ll listen. If not, I guess you’re stuck with it.” Sylvain didn’t wait for an answer, already seeking out Mercedes and Annette to get help.

* * *

The next day, Sylvain walked into a room of shocked stares when he got to class. His brunette locks stood out against the silvers and blondes of the class. Even Felix’s hair looked downright vibrant in comparison. The only ones who didn’t look shocked were Mercedes and Annette, who instead looked positively relieved.

“Oh, I’m so glad it worked! I was worried we’d need to do it again to get the color even,” Mercedes broke the silence, smiling warmly at Sylvain. Annette was silent but nodded encouragingly.

“Thanks.” Sylvain’s reply was flat as he made his way to an empty seat. Felix, a few seats down, was snickering. “Not. One. Word.” The warning only made Felix huff before Byleth called back everyone’s attention.

She got about 30 minutes of normal teaching before being rudely interrupted. Ferdinand threw open the classroom door, storming over to Sylvain. He had a nice red mark on his cheek, and it wasn’t hard to imagine how he got it 

“You! You knew this would happen, didn’t you?” Ferdinand’s usual composure was nowhere to be found, replaced with outright rage.

The ex-redhead shook his head vigorously, brows furrowed. “What would happen?”

“Now _all_ of them think I’m _you_! They don’t even recognize you when I point you out!” Ferdinand stormed over, put his hands on the table, leaned over, and tried to be intimidating. The pink slap mark on his cheek was making that hard.

Sylvain laughed. “Is it really that easy to shake them off my trail? I’ll have to remember that!”

Ferdinand opened his mouth to respond, but Byleth’s hand on his shoulder cut him off. With a groan, he straightened up and strode towards the door without even looking at the professor. Once he reached it, he turned around and set his glare on Sylvain. “This isn’t over, Gautier!” With that, he pushed out the door. 

Sylvain laughed yet again, deciding he didn’t mind the brown hair so much after all. He ran a hand through it as he scanned the room, once again drawing some entertaining looks from his classmates. He couldn’t wait to get them up to speed after the lecture.

**Author's Note:**

> Come say hi on [Twitter!](https://mobile.twitter.com/el__ubert) ✨💕


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